Data Scientist applicants have rated the interview process at Cognizant with 2.8 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 25% positive. To compare, the company-average is 69.3% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Data Scientist roles take an average of 22 days to get hired, when considering 8 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Cognizant overall takes an average of 17 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Cognizant as a Data Scientist according to 8 Glassdoor interviews include:
Phone interview: 31%
Presentation: 19%
Drug test: 13%
Skills test: 13%
One on one interview: 13%
Background check: 6%
IQ intelligence test: 6%
Here are the most commonly searched roles for interview reports -
Mostly interview rounds are 2
One is test and next is technical discussion.
We need to strong in both machine learning and Gen Ai. Test will be mostly programming with Python.
I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Cognizant (Chennai) in Dec 2025
Interview
I am a former Cognizant employee with 6+ years of AI/ML experience and was excited about the opportunity to return. Unfortunately, the interview was the most unprofessional experience of my career.
What happened:
Greeted the interviewer with "Good morning" – received no response
First statement from interviewer: "Are you really having skills or faking just for interview?"
No technical discussion – was handed a paper to write irrelevant AWS code
When I requested to share my project experience and awards, was told "Don't waste my time"
Entire interview lasted 4–5 minutes with constant rudeness and shouting
Was not allowed to speak or demonstrate my actual skills
My Take:
Having received offers from multiple Big 4 firms where I was treated with respect, this experience was shocking. Rejections are normal, but being subjected to hostile, degrading behavior is unacceptable. The interviewer (blue shirt, seated near hand wash area) displayed zero professionalism and created a harassment-like environment.
Advice for Cognizant: Screen interviewers for basic courtesy and professionalism. This reflects poorly on your employer brand.
Advice for Candidates: Be prepared for potentially disrespectful treatment. Document everything if this happens to you.
Efficient and chill, with 3 rounds of interviews, first phone screening, then interview with the Head of AI for technical stuffs and last behavioral round with HR. The whole process was smooth and the interviewers were very helpful.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about various ML models and how do you decide which model to use where.
The recruiter reached out to me. There were a total of 2 rounds of interviews. After 1st round of interview, they scheduled my last technical, which happened on the following weekend. The interviewer did not join the call. They rescheduled it further 4 times in the coming week, but the manager who was supposed to conduct the interview did not appear. The recruiter apologized, but then never scheduled that round. I felt my time was wasted in the process.